Means, commonly known as pacifiers, are used in the field of pediatrics to tranquilize small children and to give them a feeling of security. These devices also offer therapeutic advantages in that they massage the gums of a child and thereby assist in the cutting of teeth.
As set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,186,411, to William D. Skidmore, (hereafter "Skidmore") a problem is encountered by parents of small children who use pacifiers. During the night, as, or after, the child falls asleep, the pacifier will fall from the child's mouth. Thereafter the child may have a desire to such or chew on the pacifier. However, since the room in which the child is bedded is normally dark the child cannot easily find the pacifier. Usually, the child will then cry until a parent, or whoever is taking care of the child, is aroused and comes to the child's crib or bed, locates the pacifier after turning on the lights, and gives it back to the infant. Typically, when the light is turned on, the infant is further wakened due to the light and is then further upset. In addition, if other individuals share the room with the infant, they will also be disturbed.
The Skidmore reference teaches the use of a pacifier having a luminous portion, which glows in the dark, to enable an individual checking on a child in a darkened room to locate the pacifier without turning on the room lights. It also enables the child to locate the pacifier without the use of lighting means other than the glow of the pacifier.
However, the pacifier of the Skidmore reference suffers from several disadvantages. The pacifier is composed of several parts, permitting a child to separate the various units and possibly swallow them. Thus, the Skidmore type pacifier is unsatisfactory in that it may be unsafe. Also, the construction of the Skidmore pacifier is such that a glowing element in the sucking portion of the pacifier may be placed in the child's mouth. Although the glowing material may not be toxic, placing a glowing object in the mouth of an infant is thought to be psychologically objectionable to parents, and other potential purchasers and users.